Foreign Office Minister Chris Bryant
made history Saturday as the first gay MP to tie the knot in
Britain's Houses of Parliament.

Bryant married Jared Cranney in a civil
partnership held in the members' dining room, which overlooks the
Thames rivers.

“We never thought this day would
come,” the couple said in a statement, “and never thought we'd
have to worry about cakes and flowers and rings. It's amazing how
much things have changed in such a short time. Only a few years ago
there was a different gay age of consent, you could sack people or
refuse to serve them just because of their sexuality and gays were
banned from the military, from adopting or getting married.”

The wedding was allowed in Parliament
after John Bercow obtained the necessary license from Westminster
City Council.

The men said they were “enormously
grateful” to Bercow and Leader of the Commons Harriet Harman for
making the “really special day” possible.

The weekend event, however, did not
take place in the Chapel of St. Mary – as is customary for
marriages – because gay couples cannot marry in England and civil
partnerships are not allowed in church.

Bryant, a former Church of England
clergyman who became a member of the governing Labour Party for
Rhondda in 2001, met Cranney on the campaign trail last April.